A True Partnership

For over three decades, our team has made hundreds of direct investments in high-growth technology startups. Our Deal Managers are domain experts with responsibility for both investments and M&A. And we’ve built a strong reputation for predicting market transitions and fostering global innovation. We’ve set the standard of what it means to be a founder-friendly, collaborative, and value-creating strategic investor.

Rob

Salvagno

Head of Corporate Development and Cisco Investments

In his role as VP of Corporate Development and Cisco Investments, Rob Salvagno is responsible for leading all M&A and venture capital investments for Cisco.  He manages Cisco’s strategic venture capital which invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the start-up ecosystem, helping anticipate the next set of market transitions, align with disruptive technologies, gain visibility into key geographies, and partner for innovative solutions.

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Portfolio
Region

    Janey

    Hoe

    Head of Corporate Development and Cisco Investments

    Senior Domain Leader: Data Center
    Senior Geo Leader: Greater China

    Janey Hoe is a Vice President of Cisco Investments. Previously, she held multiple product management, technical marketing, and business development leadership roles at Cisco, operating multi-billion dollar product lines as well as pioneering new products in switching, security, data center, and video collaboration. Along with her team, she was recognized as a finalist for the Pioneer Award, the highest honor for innovation at Cisco. Prior to Cisco, Janey was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Before McKinsey, Janey worked on network protocol research with MIT LCS Laboratory, AT&T Laboratories, and HP Laboratories.

    Her work on TCP/IP performance improvements has been widely implemented and referenced.

    Janey holds a BS and MS in electrical engineering and computer sciences from U.C. Berkeley and MIT, respectively.

    Portfolio
    Regions
    • Greater China
    • Israel
    • US
    Domain
    • Data Center

    Derek

    Idemoto

    Head of Corporate Development and Cisco Investments

    Senior Domain Leader: Security, Service Provider, Services, Silicon
    Senior Geo Leader: Canada and APJ

    Derek and his team are currently responsible for driving Cisco’s strategy, acquisitions, and investments across its Security, Service Provider and related Services businesses. Derek is also responsible for Cisco’s corporate development activities in Canada, India, Japan, Korea, ASEAN and ANZ. Prior to joining Cisco, Derek was Managing Director of Venture Investment for ITOCHU Technology, the Silicon Valley-based technology venture capital investment and business development arm of ITOCHU Corporation. Before ITOCHU, Derek was Vice President of Corporate Development at Overture Services, the pioneer of commercial search services on the Internet, acquired by Yahoo! in 2003.

    Derek received a BS in finance and marketing from U.C. Berkeley and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA where he was a venture fellow.

    Portfolio
    Regions
    • Australia and New Zealand
    • Canada
    • India
    • Japan
    • US
    Domains
    • Security and Security Services
    • Service Provider and Core Services
    • Silicon

    Phil

    Kirk

    Sr. Director

    Senior Domain Leader: Cloud, Big Data and Analytics
    Senior Geo Leader: EMEAR

    Phil Kirk joined Cisco in 2007 and is currently responsible for all acquisitions and investments related to Big Data as well as Cloud software and management. Before joining Cisco, Phil was with the Microsoft Corporate Strategy team. Previously, he was an associate with DTEC Venture Capital, where he sourced and executed early stage investments in the software and networking market. Earlier, he spent time as a strategy consultant, focusing on clients in the internet and e-commerce space.

    Phil earned his MBA degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an AB degree with honors in economics from the University of Chicago.

    Portfolio
    Regions
    • Europe
    • US
    Domains
    • Big Data and Analytics
    • Cloud
    • Collaboration

    Jon

    Koplin

    Sr. Director

    Jon Koplin joined Cisco Investments in 2017 and leads the EMEA team responsible for investments, joint ventures, and acquisitions.

    Previous to Cisco, Jon worked as an early-stage technology investor with European family offices. Before moving into the investment arena, Jon held senior operating roles at Google and Samsung in Europe and Asia. Early in his career, Jon worked in Silicon Valley and in startups and was part of the management team of NetBeans (acquired by Sun Microsystems).

    Jon earned a BS in chemical engineering and an MA in classical languages from Stanford University and an MBA from INSEAD.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • Europe
    Domains
    • Big Data and Analytics
    • Cloud
    • Internet of Things

    Tyson

    Li

    Sr. Director

    Tyson Li joined Cisco Investments in 2008 and is part of the Greater China team responsible for investments, joint ventures and acquisitions. Previous to Cisco, Tyson was a Vice President at Investor Growth Capital Asia, a venture capital fund backed by Investor AB, where he invested in technology companies in the Asia Pacific region. Before moving into the investment arena, Tyson was a veteran of both startups as well as MNCs in both Asia and North America.

    Tyson holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and an engineering degree from Simon Fraser University.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • Greater China

    Rajiv

    Menon

    Sr. Director

    As Head of Cisco Investments and M&A for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), Rajiv leads an experienced team investing actively in a variety of strategic and thematic areas across Security, IOT, Storage, Connected Mobility, Collaboration, AI, Silicon as well as Country specific themes both directly and via LP positions. With an active portfolio of 24 direct investments plus 6 venture funds, the team continues to add to its APJ portfolio. Rajiv and his team are also responsible for originating and executing M&A transactions and Joint Venture partnerships across Asia Pacific & Japan.

    Prior to his current role, Rajiv served as the Managing Director for Cisco Capital Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China. In all, Rajiv has 23 years of experience in credit structuring, term lending, trade finance, venture lending, venture investing and M&A. Prior to joining Cisco, he co-founded Captive Finance Corporation that operated as an independent company for 6 years before being acquired by Fortis Bank.

    Originally from New Delhi, he began his corporate finance career with the venerable Tata Group after receiving his Masters of Finance from the University of Delhi. Rajiv now resides in Singapore with his family and is an avid Polo player.

     

    Portfolio
    Region
    • Asia Pacific

    Aleem

    Rizvon

    Sr. Director

    Domain Leader: Service Provider and Core Services

    Aleem Rizvon and his team are focused on developing inorganic growth strategies for the Service Provider sector and the Core Services market. Aleem has a long record of helping Cisco enter new markets. He led the formation of the Joint Venture with EMC and VMware to create VCE that helped Cisco enter the Converged Cloud Infrastructure market. He also led the investment in an early stage accelerator that allowed Cisco to participate in the Incubator market. Earlier at Cisco, Aleem led Product Management teams in both the Enterprise and Service Provider Segments where his teams were instrumental in bringing to market WLAN, Advanced Mobility Services, Multi-Service Switches and VoIP Media Gateways that drove revenues in excess of $1B.

    Prior to Cisco, Aleem lead product development organizations at NEC where he spent considerable amount of time in Japan, defining, developing and deploying Service Provider Core Network Products and Voice/Data Convergence Products.

    Aleem holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from Regional Engineering College in India and a master’s degree in computer science and engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • US
    Domains
    • Service Provider and Core Services
    • Silicon

    Hitesh

    Saijpal

    Sr. Director

    Head of Cisco Investments Portfolio Development

    Hitesh leads the Cisco Investments Portfolio Development team whose primary goal is to deliver differentiated value to the portfolio companies by leveraging Cisco’s business enablement infrastructure. This includes participation in channel partner programs as well as showcases at major Cisco events, such as Cisco Live and Cisco Partner Summit. Hitesh also has responsibility for other functions supporting portfolio development including marketing and relationships with VCs, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, both within Cisco and across the industry. Hitesh is a Cisco veteran and joined Cisco Investments from Cisco’s Software Sales group where he was responsible for Global Software business development. Hitesh was previously the acting GM of Cisco’s $1B+ Collaboration product line and, prior to that, held leadership roles in sales with focus on security, data center, and collaboration in verticals such as financials, healthcare, technology, and retail.

    Hitesh holds an MBA degree from Santa Clara University, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, and a BS in electronics and telecommunications from the University of Mumbai.

    Region
    • US
    Domain
    • Portfolio Development

    John

    Brilliant

    Director

    Domain Leader: Enterprise Networking

    John Brilliant leads the strategy development and execution for all investments and acquisitions related to Cisco’s Enterprise Networking and Wireless portfolios. In this capacity, he brings nearly twenty years of strategy and transaction experience as an investor, operator, and investment banker.

    John joined Cisco in 2017, from PwC Corporate Finance (broker-dealer subsidiary of PwC LLP) where he was part of the founding leadership that re-launched the investment banking franchise for that firm with joint responsibility for team leadership and client origination. Prior to PwC, John was part of the senior leadership for Barclays (via the acquisition of Lehman Brothers) Global Technology Investment Banking practice where he originated and executed more than 75 financing and M&A transactions accounting for approximately $100B in aggregate transaction value for leading technology clients. Earlier in his career, John was a consultant with Andersen Consulting where he focused on advising late-stage private companies on growth strategies.

    John earned an MBA in Strategic Management & Finance from The University of Chicago GSB and a BScE in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Classical Civilization from The University of Michigan.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • US
    Domain
    • Enterprise Networking

    Amit

    Chaturvedy

    Director

    Domain Leader: Internet of Things, Enterprise Networking

    Amit Chaturvedy joined Cisco Investments in 2014 and leads the global investment practice for Internet of Things (IoT). Prior to Cisco, Amit was at Summit Partners where he sourced and led investments in communications technology, financial services and consumer sectors in US, Europe and India. Previously, he was at Cummins Inc. where he designed software for diesel engines and led customer liaison activities for Daimler Chrysler Corporation. Amit also worked in the investment banking group at Citigroup, NY.

    Amit received mechanical engineering degrees from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Bombay and Purdue University – West Lafayette and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • US
    Domains
    • Enterprise Networking
    • Internet of Things

    Daniel

    Karp

    Director

    Geo Leader: Israel and Latin America

    Daniel Karp joined Cisco Investments in 2013 and is currently focused on investment and acquisition opportunities in Israel and Latin America. Before coming to Cisco, Daniel Karp was a Senior Strategy Manager at Microsoft, where he was responsible for the strategy of Microsoft’s Startup Business Group (Microsoft’s internal Incubation projects arm), and Microsoft Research, focusing on areas such as NUI, Communications and Collaboration, Robotics, 3D Printing and Machine Learning. Prior to that, Daniel worked as a Product Manager and Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft’s Windows Azure (Public Cloud). Before Microsoft, Daniel worked as a Venture Capital Associate at Amiti Capital and held various engineering roles at Comsys Communications (acquired by Intel) and Saifun Semiconductors (acquired by Spansion).

    Daniel earned a BS in electrical and electronic engineering, from Tel-Aviv University, an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and is a graduate of an Elite Telecommunications Unit in the Israeli Defense Forces.

    Portfolio
    Regions
    • Israel
    • Latin America
    Domain
    • Silicon

    Kay

    Min

    Director

    Domain Leader: Silicon
    Geo Leader: Canada

    Kay Min joined the Cisco Investments team in 2011 and is responsible for all of Cisco’s acquisitions and investments in routing, optical networking, and photonics markets which continue to display dramatic increases in speed and component integration. Kay also has the geographic responsibility for Canada. Her extensive experience in roles of increasing responsibility in the product development and product management sides of optical networking includes both large companies (Pirelli and Lucent) as well as startups, Photuris (founding team member) and Mahi. A transition into investment banking and venture capital investing further broadened her experience.

    Kay earned an MBA degree from Georgetown University and a BS in ceramic engineering from Rutgers University.

    Portfolio
    Regions
    • Canada
    • US
    Domains
    • Service Provider and Core Services
    • Silicon

    Pankaj

    Mitra

    Director

    Geo Leader: India

    Pankaj joined Cisco Investments in 2018 and leads investment and acquisition activities in India. He was formerly at Infosys Corporate Development, where he helped enable early stage investments for Infosys’ $500M innovation fund, and also worked on M&A deals. His areas of interest range from enterprise SaaS and AI applications, to digitalization and cloud infrastructure. Previously, Pankaj was at VMware, where he helped launch VMware’s first cloud services. Prior to VMware, Pankaj was a management consultant in Deloitte’s strategy team. Pankaj started his career in an EDA startup in India (Delsoft, acq. by Mentor Graphics) and fondly remembers his days as an engineer and product manager.

    Pankaj has an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a BTech EE from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Originally from Delhi, Pankaj has lived in the Bay Area for more than a decade and is now based out of Bangalore. Outside of work, Pankaj loves to play with his two kids, is a soccer fan, and dabbles in western and Hindustani classical music.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • India

    Donald

    Tucker

    Director

    Domain Leader: Collaboration

    Donald Tucker leads Cisco’s acquisition and investment efforts related to the market for Collaboration products and services. Donald joined Cisco from Oracle via the acquisition of Responsys, and prior to that spent time at Jefferies & Co., Liberty Mutual Investments and Chevron in a variety of finance, investment and research roles.

    Donald holds an MBA from Wharton and a Bachelor of Science in business from Cal Poly.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • US
    Domain
    • Collaboration

    Noah

    Yago

    Director

    Domain Leader: Big Data

    Noah leads the development and execution of investment strategy for big data & analytics – covering technologies that compile, process, and produce insights from information. He offers close to two decades of experience building companies as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and board member and has led investments in Mesosphere, Cyber-Ark, Qlik Technologies, CyOptics, Getaround and many others.

    He joined Cisco in 2017 from Triangle Peak Partners. He was a venture capitalist at Israel-based JVP, and began his investment career at NY-based merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

    Noah earned his MBA from Stanford and his BA from Tufts, where he majored in Computer Science and in German Language & Literature.

    Portfolio
    Region
    • US
    Domains
    • Big Data and Analytics
    • Cloud

    Liz

    Archibald

    Sr. Manager

    Liz Archibald is Senior Manager of Executive and Internal Communications at Cisco. In this role, Liz is responsible for designing, developing and implementing a cohesive communications strategy for Corporate Development and Cisco Investments.

    Since joining Cisco in 2010, Liz’s key accomplishments include directing both internal and external communications for C-suite and senior executives across multiple business areas, including Corporate Strategy, Engineering, Finance, Operations and Marketing. Most recently, she directed the strategy and communications plan for Cisco’s Chief Strategy Officer and the Corporate Strategy Office. Prior to this, she was responsible for all communications for the Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, including engagement for the organization’s 25,000 employees. She has crafted the messaging and delivery for a variety of audiences, including organizational announcements, All Hands meetings, customer briefings and engagements, keynotes, social media, videos and blogs. She was honored with the Cisco Communications Services Bureau award for customer satisfaction, partnership and talent, and received the Cisco Sales Operations’ Golden Globe Award two consecutive quarters for communications excellence.

    Prior to Cisco, Liz was Public and Analyst Relations Manager at Sony Computer Entertainment America, where she designed and drove a program that influenced top-tier analysts to serve as company advocates in the media. Additionally, she served as Senior Public Relations Manager, Corporate Communications, at Hewlett-Packard where she led all public relations activities for many of HP’s C-suite executives, corporate businesses and enterprise products.

     

    Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from San Jose State University.

    Region

      Glen

      Fisher

      Sr. Manager

      Senior Manager, Business Strategy & Operations, Portfolio Development

      Glen leads strategy and operations for the Cisco Investments Portfolio Development team. Prior to joining Cisco Investments, Glen held various senior management positions in Cisco’s Collaboration, Enterprise Networking and Small Business technology groups, with roles in product management, business development, analytics and strategy.

      Glen has developed and brought to market many new products in switching, routing, voice, and video. Glen is a co-author of a US patent for Ethernet switch feature provisioning.

      Prior to Cisco, Glen held product management positions in access routing at Bay Networks.

      Glen has a BS in Communications from Ithaca College and an MBA from Cornell University.

      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Portfolio Development

      Gilbert

      Guan

      Sr. Manager

      Gilbert Guan joined Cisco Investments in 2017 and focuses on investments, joint ventures and acquisitions in the Greater China team. Prior to Cisco, Gilbert was at next47 (a Siemens venture firm) where he focused on additive manufacturing, robotics, connected mobility, AI and IoT. Before next47, he worked at Xcelerate, a private equity firm in Shanghai, after having worked at Value Partners Management Consulting in Hong Kong covering the TMT and consumer sectors. Gilbert began his career in engineering and product management with Ericsson, Wistron and Tangram (a Shanghai based startup).

      Gilbert holds an MBA from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, a BS in computer networking from Fudan University and a mechanical and electrical engineering degree from the Shanghai Institute of Technology.

       

      Region
      • Greater China
      Domains
      • Big Data and Analytics
      • Data Center
      • Internet of Things
      • Security and Security Services

      Christiaan

      Kuun

      Sr. Manager

      Sr. Manager, Portfolio Development

      Christiaan is a member of the Cisco Investments Portfolio Development team. He brings portfolio companies and Cisco’s business entities together to leverage the value and scale that only Cisco can bring to our investment portfolio.

      Before joining Cisco Investments, Christiaan was part of Cisco’s Corporate Strategic Innovation Group, where he focused on various external innovation initiatives and worked across Cisco’s 14 global innovation centers. Prior to Cisco, Christiaan worked in South Africa’s largest scientific research organization (the CSIR), where he ran initiatives in artificial intelligence, and helped establish South Africa’s research and education network (SANREN).

      Christiaan holds an MBA from IMD Business School in Switzerland, and a BEng in computer engineering from the University of Pretoria in South Africa

      Regions
      • Europe
      • US
      Domain
      • Portfolio Development

      Mike

      Lim

      Sr. Manager

      Mike Lim joined the Cisco Investments in 2017 as a Senior Manager and focuses on investments and acquisitions in the Data Center space. Prior to joining Cisco, Mike was an investment banker at BMO Technology Investment Banking in San Francisco, where he focused on the Enterprise Software sector and led the coverage of Industrial Technology & Software vertical. Prior to BMO, Mike worked at Deutsche Bank and ING Investment Banking in New York where he focused on M&A, debt and equity transactions in the technology sector. Mike started his career at PWC Transaction Services where he focused on complex transaction accounting and M&A valuation.

      Mike earned a BBA degree with a concentration in Finance and Accounting from Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Data Center

      Efrat

      Noy

      Sr. Manager

      Sr. Manager, Portfolio Development

      Efrat joined Cisco Investments in 2017 and leads the Portfolio Development Platform team, which enables Cisco’s business enablement capabilities for our portfolio. This includes access to Enterprise customers, channel partner programs and enabling Cisco sellers.

      Prior to joining Cisco Investments, Efrat has held various Senior Product Management positions in Cisco’s Enterprise Networking, Security and Small Business technology groups, where she took new products and services from a concept to growth.

      Before joining Cisco, Efrat held business development and engineering roles at Broadcom and Texas Instruments.

      Efrat holds an MBA and B.Sc. in Computer Science and Economics, both from Tel Aviv University. Outside of her day job, Efrat is an advocate for special needs children and their families, is a mentor for high school students in STEAM education, a baker and cook, and a frequent, but by no means professional, yogi.

      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Portfolio Development

      Pradeep

      Paniyadi

      Sr. Manager

      Pradeep joined Cisco Investments in 2019. As a Relationship Manager, he serves as a trusted partner for our portfolio companies, helping them navigate Cisco’s vast ecosystem and making powerful connections with Cisco’s business entities.

      In his role, Pradeep frequently draws on his own experience as an entrepreneur, having been a founding member himself at an EdTech startup called Zana Project (later acquired by startup.co) and launching his family’s food service business in North America. Prior to these roles, Pradeep led sales operations for the Media and Entertainment vertical at HP Enterprise Services and held Product Management and Business Development roles at Symphony Services.

      Pradeep has a Master’s in Computer Science from University of Oklahoma and MBA from Duke.

      In his free time, he dances to his daughter’s tunes.

      Regions
      • Latin America
      • US
      Domains
      • Collaboration
      • Internet of Things
      • Portfolio Development

      Prasad

      Parthasarathi

      Sr. Manager

      Prasad Parthasarathi joined Cisco Investments in 2015 to focus on acquisitions, investments and inorganic strategy in the Security space. Prior to Cisco, Prasad worked in HP’s Corporate Development group where he evaluated and led a variety of transactions including acquisitions, divestitures, IP licensing, joint ventures and equity investments across Security, Enterprise Software and IT Services. Prasad joined HP from EDS Corporate Development, where he executed acquisitions in the Consulting & Systems Integration space and was a key member of the deal team that advised the EDS leadership on its $14B sale to HP. Prior to HP / EDS, Prasad held positions in Business Strategy and Corporate Finance in Singapore and India.

      Prasad earned an MBA in finance from the Indian School of Business (ISB) and studied at the Duke University on a student exchange program. In addition, he holds an undergraduate degree in business.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Security and Security Services

      Neetta

      Shetty

      Sr. Manager

      Neetta is part of Cisco Investments Portfolio Development team and manages Security & Enterprise Networking domains.

      She helps portfolio companies accelerate their businesses and unlock their potential by leveraging Cisco’s go-to-market engine and global reach.

      Prior to her current role, Neetta spent over a decade in Cisco working across APJC in various business acceleration roles. In her previous role she was the Business Development lead for Cisco’s demo platform and was based out of Singapore. She was instrumental in helping build world’s largest cloud demo platform. Her illustrated career spans geographies including India, Singapore and US.

      Originally from Pune, Neetta has spent her entire career helping customers embed technology in their business processes to increase profitability and enhance productivity. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Pune University.

      Regions
      • Asia Pacific
      • US
      Domains
      • Enterprise Networking
      • Portfolio Development
      • Security and Security Services

      Pratima

      Aiyagari

      Manager

      Pratima Aiyagari joined Cisco Investments in 2011 and is responsible for investments and acquisitions in the EMEA region with a specific focus on ML/AI, Enterprise Collaboration and Silicon. In this role, she also serves as Cisco’s board observer on several portfolio companies. Prior to her current role, she has over a decade of experience in multiple roles as a Cisco engineer in the US (in the areas of network management, access routing and advanced services), sell-side equity research in Europe covering the TMT sector (at Société Générale) and corporate development at a startup.

      Pratima received her MBA from INSEAD in France and an MS in computer science from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the US. Pratima is a co-author of a US patent in the area of network device clusters and high availability.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • Europe
      Domains
      • Collaboration
      • Service Provider and Core Services
      • Silicon

      Luca

      Gianaschi

      Manager

      Manager, Portfolio Development

      Luca joined Cisco Investments in 2019 and focuses on building the Portfolio Development platform that allows our portfolio companies to leverage the vast array of resources and business opportunities that Cisco can provide.

      He joined the team from his previous role for the Cisco Corporate Strategic Innovation Group, where he led the solution portfolio and Innovation Programs for Cisco’s 12 Innovation Centers. Prior to Cisco he worked in IT strategy consulting and innovation in the travel industry.

      Luca holds a MS in engineering from Politecnico of Milan and earned an MBA from IMD Business School in Switzerland.

      In his free time, he relaxes playing blues guitar.

      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Portfolio Development

      Tomer

      Goldberg

      Manager

      Tomer Goldberg joined Cisco Investments in 2016 and focuses on the full range of strategic initiatives, including acquisitions and investments, that Cisco pursues in Israel. Prior to Cisco, Tomer was at Audible, an Amazon company, as a Senior Product Manager focused on web and mobile apps, and before that, Tomer was at Deloitte Consulting working with Technology, Media and Telecom clients. Tomer began his career in the Israeli Defense Forces’ UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) unit as a pilot and officer.

      Tomer holds an MBA from Columbia University’s Business School and an LLB from the University of Haifa, Israel.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • Israel

      Lilly

      Ma

      Manager

      Lilly Ma joined Cisco Investments in 2018 and focuses on investments and acquisitions in the Service Provider, Core Services and Silicon markets. Prior to joining Cisco, Lilly worked in private equity at Wasserstein & Co. in New York, focused on investments across the consumer and industrial sectors. Lilly began her career as an analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

       

      Lilly holds an MBA from Wharton and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College, where she received an AB in Economics and Asian & Middle Eastern studies.

       

      Region
      • US
      Domains
      • Service Provider and Core Services
      • Silicon

      Dan

      Moskowitz

      Manager

      Dan Moskowitz joined Cisco Investments in 2019 and focuses on investments and acquisitions in the Security space. Prior to joining Cisco, Dan was an associate on the investment team at Touchdown Ventures focused on early-stage consumer technology and products. Dan began his career in a technical rotation program at Lockheed Martin where he rotated through roles in engineering, program management, business development, and strategy. He also interned as a technical product manager at Unity Technologies during his MBA.

       

      Dan holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he ran the 2018 Tech Conference as well as the beer enthusiasts’ club. He also holds an MS in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Security and Security Services

      Ankur

      Saxena

      Manager

      Ankur Saxena joined Cisco Investments in 2016 and is currently focused on investment and acquisition opportunities in Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. Prior to Cisco, Ankur worked in a variety of roles in venture capital, private equity and investment banking in Amazon’s Corporate Development team, The Carlyle Group, Helion Venture Partners and Avendus Capital in the US and India.

      Ankur earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He also holds a B. Tech. degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Internet of Things

      Shiv

      Sharma

      Manager

      Shiv Sharma joined Cisco Investments in 2017 and focuses on investment and acquisition opportunities in the Collaboration market. Before joining Cisco, Shiv interned at Fidelity International in London analyzing global internet equities and worked in Private Equity at Palisade Capital Management where he focused on various growth-oriented investments. Previously, Shiv was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Technology Group at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

      Shiv earned an MBA from INSEAD, an MS in commerce from the University of Virginia, and a BA in economics & commerce from Hampden-Sydney College.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Collaboration

      Ashley

      Sullivan

      Manager

      Ashley leads Communications for the Cisco Investments Portfolio Development team, responsible for messaging strategy, content management, and executive engagement. Prior to joining Cisco Investments, Ashley she led executive communications and employee engagement programs for the Americas Sales organization.

      Ashley holds a MS in Information Systems from Indiana University, concentrating in Risk Management and Business Intelligence.

      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Portfolio Development

      Divya

      Venkatachari

      Manager

      Divya joined Cisco Investments in 2014 and focuses on investment and acquisition opportunities related to the Cloud market. She started her career in a technology role at Next Jump, an internet and e-commerce company. Following that, she was a management consultant at Opera Solutions. Most recently, Divya spent a summer as an Associate covering Technology at a global investment bank.

      Divya received her bachelor’s from Anna University, India and master’s from Johns Hopkins University, both in computer science; and an MBA from Wharton.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Cloud

      Karim

      Anchassi

      Senior Associate

      Karim Anchassi joined Cisco Investments in 2017 and focuses on Big Data related investments and acquisitions. Before coming to Cisco, Karim was at Jefferies Technology Investment Banking Division in New York. At Jefferies, he has helped complete M&A, equity, and debt related transactions across various verticals.

      Karim graduated magna cum laude from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University where he received a BS in finance. He is fluent in English and Arabic and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma honors society.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Big Data and Analytics

      Tommy

      Chen

      Associate

      Tommy Chen joined Cisco Investments in 2019 and focuses on investment and acquisition opportunities in the Customer Experience, Service Provider and Core Services, and Silicon domains. Prior to joining Cisco, Tommy worked at Tradeweb, where he shaped strategy, investments, and partnerships in the fintech and digital assets space, and played a key role in the company’s successful IPO. Tommy began his career in investment banking.

      Tommy graduated Magna cum Laude from Duke University with a BS in Economics and minor in Statistics.

      Region
      • US
      Domains
      • Security and Security Services
      • Service Provider and Core Services

      Noah

      Gross

      Associate

      Noah joined Cisco Investments in 2018 and focuses on investment and acquisition opportunities in the Collaboration space. Before joining Cisco, Noah worked at JPMorgan in San Francisco executing M&A, debt, and equity transactions for technology companies. Noah earned a BBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Collaboration

      Seungki

      Kim

      Associate

      Seungki (SK) Kim joined Cisco Investments in 2019 and focuses on investment and acquisition in the Data Center space. Prior to joining Cisco, SK was an investment banker at BMO Capital Markets Technology M&A group in New York, where he focused on advising clients in the Enterprise Software sector. Prior to BMO, SK started his career at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York where he focused on M&A and restructuring transactions across various industries including TMT, healthcare and business services.

      SK graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Economics.

      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Data Center

      Jason

      Mendel

      Associate

      Jason Mendel joined Cisco Investments in 2019 and focuses on investment and acquisition opportunities in the IoT and Enterprise Networking spaces.  Prior to joining Cisco, Jason worked at Industry Ventures where he evaluated investments in late-stage, ventured-backed technology companies.  Jason began his career as an analyst in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Deutsche Bank where he worked on equity, debt and M&A transactions across the internet, software and hardware sectors.

       

      Jason graduated magna cum laude from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce in Accounting.

      Region
      • US
      Domains
      • Enterprise Networking
      • Internet of Things

      Nathan

      Reynolds

      Associate

      Nathan Reynolds joined Cisco Investments in 2017 and focuses on acquisitions and investments in the Security space. Prior to joining Cisco, Nathan worked in Barclays’ Financial Institutions investment banking team, providing strategic advice, market insights, and transaction execution to clients across the FinTech and financial services industries.

      Nathan graduated magna cum laude from Williams College, where he received a BA in economics and a B.A. in political science.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Security and Security Services

      Omri

      Sagzan

      Associate

      Omri Sagzan joined the Cisco Investments team in 2018 and focuses on venture funding and acquisitions in EMEAR region. Before joining Cisco, he worked for Pitango Venture Capital where he concentrated on early-stage core technology investments. Prior to that, Omri was a PMO at BJSS Technology Consultancy. He began his career in the Israeli Air-Forces where he worked in an air-space communication systems development unit.

      Omri holds a B.A in Economics from Tel Aviv University.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • Europe

      Arnav

      Sahu

      Associate

      Arnav focuses on big data, cloud infrastructure, IoT and enterprise networking. He joined Cisco Investments in 2017. Previously, Arnav worked at The Blackstone Group in New York. Arnav earned a BA in government and economics at Cornell University, where he was a Tata Scholar.

      In his spare time, Arnav loves watching and playing soccer.

      Portfolio
      Region
      • US
      Domains
      • Big Data and Analytics
      • Cloud
      • Enterprise Networking
      • Internet of Things

      Javier

      Ng

      Analyst

      Javier joined Cisco Investments in 2018 and focuses on investments and acquisitions in the Asia Pacific and Japan region. Before joining Cisco, he worked at Enterprise Singapore, a Singapore economic statutory board where he helped Singapore companies with their M&A strategies. Javier holds a Bachelor of Business from Nanyang Technological University.

      Region
      • Asia Pacific

      Simona

      Belinova

      Event Coordinator

      Simona joined Cisco Investments in 2017 and manages all events for our portfolio companies. In her previous role, she supported the Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence program. Before joining Cisco, Simona worked at Salesforce as a Training Coordinator.

      She graduated cum laude with a BA in graphic design from San Jose State University.

      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Portfolio Development

      Giselle

      Omar

      Marketing Manager

      Giselle leads marketing strategy for Cisco Investments. In addition to driving awareness for the organization, she focuses on joint marketing opportunities with our portfolio companies. She joined Cisco’s Data and Analytics product marketing group in 2015 through the ParStream acquisition. In her previous marketing roles, Giselle was accountable for executing all elements of integrated, multi-channel marketing programs. As an entrepreneur, she launched a multi-faceted company in Afghanistan focusing on media and services. Her current role allows her to combine her passion for digital marketing, screenwriting and technology. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from California State University, East Bay.

      Region
      • US
      Domain
      • Portfolio Development

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